Automatic hat-fastener.



, No. 842,337. PATENTED JAN. 29, 1907 M. W. ROBERTSHAW. AUTOMATIC HATFASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED P3123, 1906.

rn: NORRIS PETERS co \nusnmcrou. u. c.

MILFRED- W. ROBERTSHAW, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC HAT-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 29, 1307.

, Application filed February 23, 1906. Serial No. 302,367.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILFRED W. RoBERr- SHAW, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York city, county of New York, and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in AutomaticHat-Fasteners, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in fastening attachments forwomens hats, it being the object of the invention to provide anattachment of this kind designed to be attached to the inside of the hatand by ongagement with the hair of the wearer to effectively resistremoval or displacement of the hat while being worn.

To this end the invention consists of an automatic fastening devicecomprising two members, one adapted to be sewed or otherwise attached tothe inside of a hat and the other, which is toothed, (or in the form ofa comb,) adapted to be inserted in the hair of the wearer, the lattermember swinging on the former in a vertical direction when in use, so asto move into holding position and so that the hat may be adjusted up anddown upon the head of the wearer and automatically locked in anyposition of adjustment by a suitable locking device interposed betweenthe two members, which may be operated to release said hair-engagingmember when the wearer desires to remove or readjust the hat.

As a full understanding of the improvements of the present invention canbest be given by a detailed description of an organization embodying thesame, such description will now be given in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of one of thefastening attachments.- Fig. 2 is a section of the same. Fig. 3 is anedge view of the same, showing it attached to a hat. Figs. 4 and 5 aresectional views illustrating particularly the automatic locking devicebetween the two members and the means for operating it to release thehair-engaging member. Figs. 6 to 9 are details of the blanks from whichis formed the member which is to be sewed to the hat. Fig. 10 is asection illustrating the two members in the positions they occupyrelatively to each other when the hairengaging member and the hat towhich it is attached are adjusted to the desired position on the headof-the wearer. Fig. 11 illustrates a hat provided on opposite sides withtwo of the attachments about to be placed upon the head, and Fig. 12 isa similar view illustrating the hat positioned on'the head and thetoothed member of the fastening attachment in the position it thenoccupies.

Referring to said drawings, 1 represents the hair-engaging member of theattachment, and 2 the other member, which is to be attached to theinside or inner band of the hat. The hair engaging member 1 is curvedslightly in a longitudinal direction to conform to the head (see Fig. 3)and is provided with teeth 3, which are preferably widely separated anddiverge toward their outer ends, this toothed portion of the member 1being also slightly curved lengthwise and crosswise of the teeth toconform to the head (see Figs. 2 and 3) and the ends of the teeth beingturned inward, so that when the hat having the attachment is presseddown on the wearers head the engaging member will be caused to swinginward and upward.

The member 2 consists, preferably, of a front plate 4, of sheet metal,having holes 5 at its ends and middle portion, by which it may be sewedor otherwise attached to the inner band of a hat, (see Fig. 3,) and aback protecting-plate or shield 6, (shown broken away in Fig. 1 andfully in Fig. 3,) which is secured to front plate 4 by lugs 7 8, risingfrom the blank from which said plate is formed (seeFigs. 6, 7) andentering corresponding openings in the back plate 6, these lugs beingturned down over the face of said plate, as shown in Fig. 1.

The hair-engaging member 1 is connected with member 2 by projections 910, screwed into or otherwise secured to the base of member 1, theseprojections 9 10 being provided with bosses 11 12, respectively, throughwhich are drilled holes for receiving pins 11 12, each mounted in a pairof lugs 13, (see Fig. 1,) stamped up from front plate 4. (See Figs. 6,7.) The plate 4 is also stamped up, as shown, to form a smallprotecting-cover 13 for the boss 11 on the projection 9. The member 1 istherefore pivotally mounted on the member 2 and is free to swingupwardly and downwardly thereon and downwardly and upwardly withrelation to the hat to which the attachment may be secured, eX- cept fora locking device, which will now be described and the function of whichis to automatically retain the hair-engaging member 1 inany position towhich it may be moved IIO upwardly on the member 2 and prevent any 1 besecured to the hat on opposite sides downward movement thereof from thatpo- 1 thereof, so that the toothed portions of the sition. The lockingdevice for this purpose consists of a ratchet 14, formed upon the boss12, which is adapted to be engaged by a spring-pawl in the form of aplate, mounted in lugs 16 17, struck up from the back plate 4. (SeeFigs. 6, 7.) These two lugs 16 17 are staggered or formed at differentdistances from the edge of the plate 4, so that when the spring-plate 15is introduced into the slots 18 19, respectively, provided for itsreception in these lugs, its forward end will be held yieldingly againstthe ratchet 14. These slots 18 19, it will be obsprved on reference to 4Figs. 8 and 9, are arranged obliquely, so that the ratchet-engaging edgeof the spring-p awl 15 will be properly presented to the teeth of theratchet, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

From this construction it results th at when the hair-engaging member 1of the attachment is swung upwardly, as shown in Fig. 10, the pawl 15,engaging the ratchet 14, will prevent any downward movement thereofuntil said pawl 15 is disengaged from the ratchet 14 by the manually-opeated means which will now be described. '1 he means for so disengagingthe pawl 15 from the ratchet 14 consists of a bell-crank lever20,pivotally mounted upon a lug 21, struck up from the back plate 4,(see Figs. 1, 6, and 7,) and the forward end of which engages theforward end of the spring-plate 15, wiile the rearward end thereofprojects beyond the front plate 4 and back plate 6 in the form of athumb-piece 22in a convenient position for engagement by the thumb. Theforward end of the lever 20 has a projection 20, which extends through ahole in the end of the pawl, such connection serving to hold both thelever and. the pawl against displacement. The forward end of the lever20 normally rests against aback-stop consisting of a lug 23, struckupfrom the front plate 4, and in this position of the lever 20 the pawl 15is in position for engagement or is in actual engagement with theratchet 14. When, however, the lever 20 is swung upon its pivot by theinward movement of the thumb-piece 22, the pawl 15 will be moved out ofengagement with the ratchet 14 by the engagement of the forward end oflever 20 with tne forward end of said pawl 15, so that the hair-engagingmember 1 may then be swung downwardly from any upward position to whichit mav have been moved upon the member 2 to 1336 position in which it isshown in Fig. 11, for example, which is its normal position. Theselocking devices and the releasing-lever 20 are, as will be observed, allcovered and protected by the shield or plate 6, which when theattachment is secured to a hat is interposed between these parts and thepart of the hat to which the plate 4 is sewed. In use two such fasteningdevices, a right and a left hand device, will two members 1 will projectinwardly and overlap each other when the hat is in position upon thehead. With two such devices so secured to are hat when the hat isbrought over the head he toothed portions of the two hairengagingmembers 1 will engage the hair sub stantially as indicated in Fig. 11 ofthe drawings. When the hat is then moved down upon the head andotherwise adjusted thereon, the hair-engaging members 1. of the twoattachments will both swing upwardly upon the members 2, their toothedportions moving inwardly through the hair toward each other until thehat has reached its proper position upon the head, when the twohairengaging members 1 will assume such overlapping position withrelation to each other as is indicated in Fig. 12 of the drawings. Thesetwo hair-engaging members are then automatically locked in this positionby the locking device, wh' 1 sbeen described, and as a result of thistie hat will be held securelv against displacement or removal from theitead until the ratchet 14 is released from pawl 15 by the upwardmovement by the wearer of thumb-piece 22 of tile releasinglever 20.

hat I claim is 1. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising amember for attachment to the hat, a hair-engaging nieniber verticallymovable thereon, and a hand-releasable locking device for positivelylocking it against retrograde movement in different positions to whichit in a be moved between its limits of vertical movement.

2. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a hair-engaging member pivotally mounted thereonso as to swing vertically, and a hand-releasable locking device forpositively looking it against retrograde movement in different positionsto which it may be moved between its limits of vertical movement.

3. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed hair-engaging member vertically movablethereon, and a hand-releasable locking device for positively locking itagainst retrograde movement in different positions to which it may bemoved between its limits of vertical movement.

4. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed hair-engaging member pivotally mountedthereon so as to swing vertically, and a b and-releasable locking devicefor positively locking it against retrograde movement in differentpositions to which it may be moved between its limits of verticalmovement.

5. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a hair-engaging member pivotally mounted thereonso as to swingvertically, and a hand-releasable locking device,"consisting of a ratchet on one member and a pawl on the other forretaining the hair-engaging member in the position to: which it may bemoved.

6. An automatic hat-fastening attach ment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a hair-engaging member pivotally mounted thereonso as to swing vertically, a locking device, consisting of a ratchet 011one member and a pawl on the other, for retaining the hair-engagingmember in the position to which it may be moved, and manuallyoperatedmeans for disengaging said member from the locking device.

7. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed member 1 pivotall mounted thereon andhaving a ratchet 14,

and a hand-releasable pawl 15 for engaging said ratchet.

S. An automatic hat-fastening attach ment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed member 1 pivotally mounted thereon andhaving a ratchet 14, a pawl 15 for engaging said ratchet, and ahand-operated lever 22 engaging said pawl.

9. An automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed member 1 pivotally mounted thereon andhaving a ratchet 14, a pawl 15 for engaging said ratchet, and ahand-operated lever 22'engaging said pawl, said pawl and lever beingcovered and protected by a plate 6.

10. An automatic hat-fastening attach ment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a hair-engaging member pivotally mounted thereonso as to swing vertically and having a plurality of diverging teeth 3,and a hand-releasable locking device for positively locking it againstretrograde movement in different positions to which it may be movedbetween its limits of vertical movement.

11. An automatic hat-fastening attachiment comprising a member forattachment to the hat, a toothed hair-engaging member pivotally mountedthereon so as to swing vertically, and a hand-releasable locking devicefor retaining the hairengaging member in the position to which it may bemoved, the toothed portion of said hair-engaging member being curvedlengthwise and crosswise of the teeth to conform to the head, with theends of the teeth curved in the opposite direction, substantially asdescribed.

12. In an automatic hat-fastening attachment comprising a member forattachment to the hat and a hairengaging member pivotally mountedthereon so as to swing vertically, the combination of a ratchet 14 onone member, a pawl 15 on the other, and a releasable lever 20 connectedwith the pawl 15 y means of a projection on one of said. membersextending into an opening in the other of said. members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

MILFRED XV. ROBERTSHAW'.

